Revision of American Immigration Laws Urged at Ort Meeting

November 29, 1951

NEW YORK (Nov. 28)

The revision of the present American immigration laws was urged here last night by Edward Corsi, chairman of the New York State Displaced Persons Commission, addressing a meeting at the Hotel Astor marking the 10th anniversary of the American and European Friends of ORT, an organization of former refugees.

With the Displaced Persons program shortly to be terminated and the International Refugee Organization to end its operations soon, Mr. Corsi felt it was extremely urgent that Congress reconsider the “outmoded” quota restrictions. He proposed that Congress “change our quota system based on national origins to a positive selection system based on the ability of our economy to absorb the type of immigrants selected. “

He went on to urge adoption of “a flexible quota system which will enable us to assign the unused quota of one country to other countries. Finally we should change the outmoded total quota of 153,000 per year to a total which bears a reasonable relationship to the present population of this country and our ability to absorb the permitted number of immigrants successfully. “

Dr William Haber, president of the American ORT Federation, and professor of economics at the University of Michigan, described the purpose of ORT as “the training of skilled workers so that they might become useful and productive.” ORT new operates vocational training programs in 22 different nations, including North Africa, Iran and Israel” according to Dr. Haber, ”and has become known as ‘the Point Four of Jewish life. “

William Rosenwald, a national chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, hailed ORT for its share in the U.J.A. ‘s overseas rehabilitation program, which since the end of World War II has helped approximately 350,000 Jews in Europe and North Africa to achieve, self-sufficiency.